Yakabout - Soft plastics for sustainability

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Soft plastics for sustainability

Tuesday, 01 May 2007

Soft plastics - the unsung hero of sustainable fishing

You might be thinking that the term “soft plastics for sustainability” is an oxymoron if you take the line that plastic is, after all, made out of oil. The truth is, however, a good deal of them are made from biodegradable materials. Look for packets that advertise being 'plastic free' (another oxymoron, I know). And don't be concerned that no plastic means no fish. The Berkley soft plastic range is a fitting case in point. I catch many - most even - of my fish on Berkley placcies.

So yes, a good deal of the soft plastic lures on the market are indeed biodegradable, so I think that issue is a bit less of a concern than I’ve heard raised in the past. Besides, in my experience, retired placcys are less likely to die of unnatural causes (such as getting irretrievably snagged) and far more likely to be manually decommissioned after being savaged by several fish. And that fish are savaging it is always a good sign (providing you have ample spares).

But the relationship between soft plastic lures and sustainability don’t end there. Indeed, one major advantage of these little wonders is that because they typically use a single upward facing hook, most of the time they only lip-hook the fish. Treble lures and flesh baits are far more likely to do more damage to the fish in question. Whilst that’s not so much of a concern if the fish is indeed of size and earmarked for the dinner table, it can cause disaster for undersize and unwanted fish. You don’t need me to tell you that such inadvertent catches have to be returned, either for legal or moral reasons. But where’s the point in doing it if the fish is unlikely to survive anyway? Sadly, that’s often the case for fish gut-hooked with bait, or fish multiple hooked with treble lures. Not so with soft plastics, which are generally always easier to unhook as well.

Finally, there is one other major environmental advantage to using soft plastic lures (aside from the obvious financial benefits), which is to say that every time you decide to use them instead of commercially harvested bait, you’ve just hammered another nail into the coffin of unsustainable commercial fishing practices. By not buying blue bait, pilchards or the like, you are not supporting the commercial fishing industry. Given that many commercial fishermen have a lot to answer for regarding their methods of operation, it just doesn’t make sense for recreational fisherman to support them in any way. If you don't want to see over-fishing cause further damage to our estuaries, bays and oceans, vote with your dollars and don't buy bait. In many cases, soft plastic lures are a perfect surrogate and if not, well, bait can be caught.

I come up with a saying the other day, which won favor amongst the company I was keeping. That was: ‘I like to be able to say that no other animal was harmed in the catching of this fish’. This is partly why I prefer soft plastics to bait. That’s not to say I won’t throw out a bait every now and then, because I often do. Thats what squid tenticles, mussels and fishy off-cuts are for.

Yep, I am dead-set opposed to buying bait. It’s expensive, unsustainable and is rarely as effective as freshly caught bait (or soft plastics lures. Oh, and unused flesh bait is practically useless if not used on the outing it was purchased for. Unused placcies, on the other hand, just keep on keeping on.

Five or six years ago I wouldn’t have considered these issues, but as times change and I continue to observe degradation of fish stocks (not just in Australia) the more I’m convinced that soft plastics are one of the most humane and sustainable methods of catching fish with a rod. And if we all want our children (and theirs) to enjoy what we have today, I think it’s a point worthy of consideration.